# iFBAs vs NES

The clearest difference is review sentiment: iFBAs at 56% against NES's 0%. iFBAs also leads on ratings volume (101 vs 19). NES's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

NES holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iFBAs has 101 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of iFBAs's written reviews are positive against 0% of NES's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

iFBAs ships an update every 6 weeks, NES every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | iFBAs | NES |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (101 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ifbas-arcade-emulator/id1491920707/reviews) | **[4.3 (19 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nes-emulator/id6744561705/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **101** | 19 |
| Positive reviews | **56.3% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 194 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [国琛 邱](https://appshunter.io/developer/1470556607) | [建菊 林](https://appshunter.io/developer/1801975821) |

## What reviewers say

### iFBAs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ifbas-arcade-emulator/id1491920707)

Experience arcade classics in high definition on your iOS device. This emulator offers excellent performance for a wide range of arcade games, with additional features for enhanced gameplay. Note that game ROMs are not included and must be provided by the user.

**Highlights:** High-definition arcade playback, Excellent performance on iOS, Supports nearly all arcade games, User-provided game ROMs, Built-in usage instructions

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Excellent arcade game emulation for most ROMs
- 📱 Easy ROM import and file management
- 🎨 Good graphics quality on mobile devices
- ⚡ Fast performance with minimal lag
- 👍 Intuitive menu navigation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes after updates
- 📵 Forced updates causing app instability
- 🌐 Network connectivity issues (crashes without internet)
- 🎯 Missing file errors preventing game launch
- 🗣️ Incomplete English translation (mostly Chinese)

**Reported bugs**

- Missing file errors (cde_20a.5f) preventing game launch
- Crashes when using external controllers/keyboards
- App crashes without internet connection
- Crashes when loading previous game saves
- Crashes when accessing storage settings

**Requested features**

- Full English language support throughout app
- Haptic feedback for touch controls
- Tilt/analog stick controls for specific games
- Touch screen light-gun support (for games like T2)
- Magic Keyboard customization options


### NES

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nes-emulator/id6744561705)

Experience classic 8-bit gaming with this high-performance emulator. It supports most classic game ROMs and offers a clean, intuitive interface for seamless retro gameplay on your device.

**Highlights:** High-performance NES emulation, Supports classic game ROMs (.nes), Clean and intuitive interface, Faithfully recreates 8-bit experience, Smooth performance

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is iFBAs free?

iFBAs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is NES free?

NES is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, iFBAs or NES?

NES is rated higher. iFBAs averages 3.8 out of 5 from 101 ratings, while NES averages 4.3 from 19 ratings.

### Do iFBAs or NES have ads?

Neither iFBAs nor NES shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, iFBAs or NES?

iFBAs ships an update every 6 weeks, and NES every 4 days. Most recently, iFBAs was updated on September 17, 2026 and NES on September 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*